Giving Her Wings

About the Book

Giving Her Wings is an account from a mother's perspective about sending her fifteen-year-old daughter to the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy to pursue her dreams of studying music and becoming an oboist. The book is formatted as a diary and contains accounts of the events leading to the decision to attend Interlochen Arts Academy, visits to Interlochen, concerts, being suspended from school, and the need to prepare a fifteen-year-old for the future. Parenting includes loving, nurturing, and preparing children for becoming responsible adults. The urgency to prepare her daughter for the future is magnified when the mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. Giving Her Wings includes many joys, sorrows, and interactions shared between the mother and daughter. This book should be of interest to a wide range of readers. Any parent who is considering sending a child to Interlochen's summer camp, Interlochen Arts Academy, or any boarding school would find the book helpful and interesting. Students planning to attend or who have already attended camps or boarding school would enjoy this book. In addition, Giving Her Wings should be of great interest to breast cancer survivors or any cancer survivor. Raising a child while dealing with the physical and emotional aspects of cancer can be overwhelming. Most parents diagnosed with a life-threatening disease will relate to this book, realizing the need for preparing a child to be self-sufficient and to prepare that child for the future.

About the Author

Dianne Perry has taught elementary music in the public schools since 1980 and has served as church organist/choir accompanist since 1984. She enjoys playing the piano, organ, and harp. Upon daughter Kristin's acceptance to the Interlochen Arts Academy, Dianne began a diary of the journey of her own joys and concerns of sending her daughter to Interlochen. She and her husband, Richard, a 1975 IAA graduate, have two grown children. Richard and Dianne reside in Avon, Indiana.